Indian tourist in Nepal appeals for help after hotel set ablaze amid protests: Video
Upasana Gill, who travelled to Nepal to host a women's volleyball league, shared videos on Instagram pleading for rescue. Gill said that she was inside the hotel's spa when the protestors stormed the building. She said that she had contacted the Indian Embassy but was dissatisfied with the advice received
New Delhi: An Indian tourist stranded in Pokhara has appealed for urgent help from the Indian Embassy after the hotel where she was staying was set on fire by protestors.
Upasana Gill, who travelled to Nepal to host a women's volleyball league, shared videos on Instagram pleading for rescue. "I request the Indian Embassy to help us. Please help as many people as you can. I am stuck in Pokhara, Nepal. Our hotel where I stayed has been burnt,” she said in one clip posted by independent journalist Praful Garg.
Gill urges India to take action for stranded tourists
Gill said that she was inside the hotel's spa when the protestors stormed the building. "I was in the spa and people were running behind me with big sticks. As soon as I saved my life, I came out of the hotel. There is fire everywhere. They are not even leaving the tourists here,” she said.
According to her, she and several others managed to escape and take shelter in another hotel nearby. "We don’t know how long we will stay here in another hotel,” Gill said. Posting a video of the Sarovar Hotel engulfed in flames, she added, "That’s my hotel. I have no clothes, and all my luggage was in the hotel, and now it’s been burned down.”
In another Instagram story, she said that she had contacted the Indian Embassy but was dissatisfied with the advice received. "The Indian Embassy called and asked me to stay inside the hotel. We were inside, but the protesters came and burned it down. Why would we go on the road in such a time? Please take some action,” she pleaded.
Gill, was announced as the official presenter of the women's volleyball league in October 2024. She was scheduled to host the event beginning September 30 at Kathmandu's Dashrath Stadium.
Nepal in turmoil
Nepal is witnessing its most intense political crisis in recent years. Nineteen people have been killed and more than 500 injured as protests over a controversial social media ban led to a broader anti-government movement. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned on September 9.
India's Ministry of External Affairs has since issued a travel advisory for citizens in Nepal and also activated emergency helplines to assist those caught in the unrest.